The landscape of Christianity in America is shifting, particularly within the evangelical wings of both Catholic and Protestant churches. Several recent books explore this transformation, offering different perspectives on faith and culture. This month, instead of featuring one book, we’d like to offer six influential books that cover some key issues and opportunities that Christianity is facing. As a disclaimer, we do not endorse all views shared in these books—instead, our intention is to share the broader conversation being had about the role of Christianity in modern society. Read (or don’t read) any of these books that you find interesting.
Cross Purposes – Jonathan Rauch
We begin with a challenge: the tension between religious institutions seeking to preserve traditional values versus a society moving toward secular individualism.
Jonathan Rauch, known for his work on liberalism and secularism, makes the case in Cross Purposes for Christianity’s role in sustaining American democracy and warns of the consequences if it weakens or distorts its mission. He critiques the mainline church, which fails to inspire believers, and the “Church of Fear,” which he claims values “MAGA” over the tenets of both Jesus and the Constitution.
Rauch argues that secular and religious Americans must work together to uphold democracy and urges Christians to embrace faith in alignment with the principles of James Madison rather than political extremism. Though a lifelong atheist himself, Rauch also calls on secular liberals to recognize that strong religious institutions are essential to preserving a free society.
Democracy and Solidarity – James Davidson Hunter
Likewise, James Davidson Hunter, credited as the originator of the term “culture wars” and author of the 1991 book Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America, explores the fragility of American democracy in Democracy and Solidarity. In it, he argues that the nation’s historic sources of solidarity—rooted in its “hybrid Enlightenment”—have largely eroded.
While deep political polarization is a symptom, the real crisis is the absence of shared cultural resources to navigate division. Without an organic basis for unity, he warns, political cohesion may ultimately be imposed by force.
Hunter examines the divide between declining mainline Protestantism and Evangelicalism, arguing that while secularism has eroded Christian influence in some areas, the faith remains a powerful force for social cohesion. However, Hunter is wary of Christianity becoming overly entangled with political movements and cautions the church to maintain its spiritual mission over partisan loyalty.
Mere Christendom – Douglas Wilson
In Mere Christendom, Doug Wilson offers an alternative response: the bold should return to a society that explicitly recognizes Christian principles as its foundation. He argues that those like Rauch and Hunter warn against Christian nationalism and theocracy while ignoring the fact that secularism itself poses the greatest threat to society.
Wilson calls for a political and cultural framework in which Christianity plays a central role—a vision that aligns with postliberal movements that seek to restore religious authority and moral order in governance and refuses to surrender to the secularization of the West.
Shepherds for Sale – Megan Basham
Megan Basham’s Shepherds for Sale highlights another challenge: the commercialization of Christian leadership. She exposes how some pastors and Christian influencers have compromised their message for personal gain, aligning with corporate interests, political ideologies, or secular trends.
Basham takes a hard-elbowed approach to the struggle within the church and argues that this type of pervasive Christianity is weakening its moral authority and contributing to the crisis of credibility within American Christianity.
The Deconstruction of Christianity – Alisa Childers & Tim Barnett
Likewise, Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett tackle another problem from within: the growing movement of “deconstruction” within Christian circles, where believers question or abandon traditional Christian doctrines in favor of progressive reinterpretations. In The Deconstruction of Christianity, they argue that this trend undermines biblical authority and leads to theological.
The book serves as a defense of orthodox Christianity, countering the influence of secularism and liberal theology that seek to reshape Christian identity in modern times. We featured this as our Book of the Month in October, and provided an in-depth review on how it relates to worldview and what we do at Praxis Circle.
Believe – Ross Douthat
Last but certainly not least, we have Ross Douthat’s Believe. This earned our Book of the Month feature last month for its strong and convincing emphasis on the importance of a religious worldview. It serves as a contemporary theodicy—a defense of faith against the skepticism of modernity—and argues that religion remains relevant not just as a set of doctrines, but as a compelling answer to existential questions about suffering, purpose, and the supernatural.
While The Deconstruction of Christianity appeals to those within the church (who have either deconstructed themselves or wish to learn more about this movement), Believe appeals to those who are perhaps unchurched but curious about faith, guiding them toward a Christian worldview rooted in historical tradition while engaging with modern intellectual challenges.
Of all the books discussed here, Believe presents the most direct case for the Judeo-Christian worldview as a transformative and necessary belief system.
Tying These Perspectives Together: The Battle for Christianity’s Future
These six books, while addressing different aspects of faith, culture, and politics, collectively highlight the defining struggle within Christianity today: postliberalism vs. secular libertinism. Douthat’s Believe provides a broad framework for understanding why Christianity remains compelling in a skeptical world. Rauch and Hunter emphasize the sociopolitical divisions within the church, particularly between declining mainline Protestantism and the growing Evangelical movement, while still maintaining an emphasis on the importance of faith. Wilson, Childers, and Basham lean toward a more traditionalist response, advocating for a return to Christian authority in culture, doctrine, and governance.
This debate extends beyond theology—it is about how Christianity interacts with American politics, culture, and moral philosophy. The question remains: will Christianity continue adapting to modern secularism, or will it reassert its historical foundations?
These books highlight different symptoms of that problem but collectively remind us that faith remains at the heart of America’s cultural and political landscape.
